Musician Paul Kantner dies at 74

Musician Paul Kantner, a founding member of Jefferson Airplane, has passed away after facing multiple organ failure. He was 74

Los Angeles: Musician Paul Kantner, a founding member of Jefferson Airplane, has passed away after facing multiple organ failure. He was 74.

Kantner died on Thursday, his publicist told the San Francisco Chronicle newspaper, reports variety.com.

Paul Kantner (L) and Slick Aguilar perform at the concert marking the 40th anniversary of the Woodstock music festival on August 15, 2009 in Bethel, New York. Pic/AFP

Kantner had suffered a heart attack earlier in the week, and another one in March 2015.

A native of San Francisco, Kantner joined showbiz in the early 1960s as a folk musician who idolised Pete Seeger. He was the first band member recruited by Marty Balin to form Jefferson Airplane in San Francisco in 1965 after Balin saw Kantner perform at the folk club the Drinking Gourd.

The band pioneered the psychedelic sound by fusing folk with rock music and mixing in reverb and fuzzy guitar lines. The Airplane became the first San Francisco rock group of that era to achieve mainstream success.

Kantner is survived by sons Gareth and Alexander and daughter China.

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